


Songs I'd Never Learned

by SixStringCoffeeBean



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Post-Canon, Protective Siblings, Secret Relationship, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 22:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15083405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixStringCoffeeBean/pseuds/SixStringCoffeeBean
Summary: Serenity is pregnant, and she KNOWS her brother won't approve of the father. She's also in a tight spot, because the father doesn't want much to do with her either. With the help of a few friends, she hides the pregnancy and gets by - that is, until tragedy strikes and she has to come clean to everyone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've always written on FF.net, and this is my first venture into AO3. I'm excited, but I don't know your rules yet - be nice to me!! ;^; 
> 
> Music is an integral part of my writing process and SO many songs have gone into this story, but the title comes from the one that has come to encapsulate the whole thing for me: Passing Afternoon, by Iron and Wine.
> 
> This story begins about six years after the original series ended. Seto and the others are is in their early-mid 20s, Mokuba and Serenity are like 19-20. I don't own any of the songs I'll reference (or Yu-Gi-Oh itself, of course!)... but I hope you enjoy! r/r plz. ;)

"Is something the matter, Seto?"

Mokuba looked up at his older brother, unable to hide his concern. Though they saw one another often enough, it was usually either around the house or because he took the initiative to venture up to Seto's top floor office and take up residence in one of the chairs in front of his desk. It was highly unusual that Seto called him from work and ask him to come by.

Something told Mokuba that the news probably wasn't going to be good.

His brother sighed.

"Mokuba, you know how I've always lectured you about being so careful when you do whatever it is that you do with all those girls you go out with on Saturday nights?"

Mokuba nodded, but his mind had already started racing.

Had something happened? Was one of his ex-girlfriends… pregnant? Infected with something? Either way, why on earth would she – whoever she was – call his brother before calling him? Was she going to try to extort them for money or something?

"Seto, I – "

"It's not about you, Mokuba," his brother sighed. "It's… Serenity."

Mokuba's fear quickly transformed into confusion.

"Serenity?" he laughed. "Serenity Wheeler? Seto, you know I'd never do anything with Joey's sister. She's too good of a friend, and also, she's not really my type."

"Again, Mokuba, it's not you. It's Serenity and… me. I just got off the phone, and I think…" Seto paused, and sighed deeply. "I can barely even say it. Okay. I might have gotten Serenity Wheeler pregnant."

Mokuba felt his veins turn to ice. The entire office was so silent that he could hear the knocking of the radiator pipes. His mind replayed his brother's words over and over, but the repetition didn't make them any more logical.

His brother, get someone pregnant?

Get Serenity pregnant?

Of the two Kaiba brothers, Mokuba knew that he certainly came closer to fulfilling the wealthy playboy stereotype. As soon as he reached his late teens and Seto (in spite of his reservations) gifted him with his first car and credit card, he had started doing pretty well for himself where girls were concerned. He wasn't a player, he wouldn't say, but he enjoyed companionship without the constraints of commitment. Each weekend brought a new slew of phone numbers and nights out, some secured with his own charm and some falling into his lap – more or less just perks of bearing the name Kaiba.

Even as he neared twenty-two years old, Seto had never really taken advantage of those types of perks.

Mokuba had begged and pleaded and cajoled for a year at least, but he could never get his brother out from behind his desk long enough to take advantage of being young and rich. As time passed, it became clear that Seto was going to remain the same tightly-wound perfectionist and workaholic he always had been. Eventually Mokuba gave up extending invitations, but it didn't mean he resented his brother or even admired him any less. Of course, he wished Seto would have a bit of fun once in awhile, but there was something nice about feeling like he knew his brother inside and out and always knew what to expect.

However – if this news was anything to go by - he hadn't known Seto quite as well as he thought he had.

Mokuba paused and swallowed.

"How… how did that happen?" he asked.

Seto scowled at him, and Mokuba instantly realized how his question had been interpreted.

"Well, obviously, uh, I know how it happened. But what were the circumstances, I mean? Was it some kind of hook-up, or were you two… seeing each other?"

Seto collapsed into his desk chair and sighed.

"It's complicated, as you might imagine. It was some of both. We had talked a few times, and there had been some… overtures… mostly from her, as you may have guessed. But it was just an accidental, one-time thing."

"Well, you've told me ten thousand times… one time is enough."

Seto sighed and gazed over at his brother.

"Apparently, I was right."

The two sat in silence for a minute. Finally, Mokuba smiled a little.

"I know it's not what you wanted – "

"Not what I wanted? It's the worst possible outcome I could have ever imagined."

"Well, yeah, but I'm just saying, I'm a little impressed. I never thought you would be the one out of the two of us to make this mistake."

Seto laughed humorlessly.

"Surprise."

Mokuba looked thoughtful for a second, but suddenly his face fell.

"Joey's going to kill you!"

"I give you this kind of news, and that's where you mind goes?" Seto demanded. "Joey Wheeler is the least of my worries."

"Well still, you know he's going to be really pissed. He's always been so protective of his baby sister. He wouldn't even let Tristan or Duke near her, and he likes them. He hates you more than anyone. Knowing that the two of you…" Mokuba's voice started to trail off, but he finally added, "well, he's not going to be happy."

"I don't know why it's his business," Seto countered. "Serenity is her own person, and it was… certainly consensual."

Mokuba made a face, but then he started to laugh.

"Good for you, bro. Well, good at the time, I guess. But still - when did this all go down? Where were you? Where was I?"

For what may have been the sixth or seventh time in as many minutes, Seto sighed. But it was the kind of sigh that indicated that he was about to start a story, so Mokuba leaned in.

"It was about a month and a half ago," his brother began. "It started the Friday night that you stayed over at the game shop for Joey's birthday party. Apparently – from what Serenity said – he and Mai got in a terrible fight."

Mokuba laughed.

"Did they ever."

"Well, Mai was so angry she left, and Serenity went with her. Apparently the two of them went downtown and Mai kept drinking."

"That makes sense," Mokuba agreed. "Mai was barely even buzzed at the party, which is really unusual for her. It's also part of the reason she started the fight, I think."

Seto continued as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"Well, as you can imagine, the night went downhill from there. Mai got very drunk and ran into an old friend from school. They all danced for a while, but eventually Mai was getting sloppy, and the friend said that she would take her home. Serenity agreed to that, but it meant that she was going to be out by herself, and she doesn't like to do that. So she called me while she waited for a ride."

"I had no idea you two were that close," Mokuba said. "I mean, obviously. I didn't even know you talked."

"Well, that's another story altogether. I offered to take her back to her apartment that night, but she didn't want to go, because she figured that Joey would be there and he would be mad that she took Mai's side."

Mokuba grinned.

"…and I was still at the game shop."

Seto crossed his arms, looking embarrassed. It was an unusual look for him, and one that very few – perhaps only Mokuba – ever got to witness.

"You can probably assume the rest," he finished. "I dropped her off the next morning before you got back. She and I have only talked once or twice since then, and things have been awkward. She called me the second the test came back positive, though. It's… definitely mine."

"I mean, I'd guess that," Mokuba said. "Serenity really doesn't hook up. Except with you, apparently."

Mokuba grinned, and Seto scowled.

"Please be serious."

"I am!" Mokuba insisted. "I'm as serious about this as I am about anything. This is big news! This is going to change a lot of things. Who has she told?"

"Nobody," Seto said sternly. "Outside of the two of us, you are the only one who knows. So you're not to breathe a word."

"Of course. But it can't stay secret too long. She and Joey live together. He's going to find out sooner or later."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay updating - I've used ff.net forever and ever, and this transition is weirding me out! However, I do know that this is the way of the future, and I need to evolve. :P In case you were curious, this story is on ff.net under the same username AND title (and there's about six more chapters there than here) but I will make an effort to get the updates on here as well. Please leave kudos and comments if you like it! ^.^

Serenity sat at her brother's kitchen table, her head resting on the cool, smooth wood finish. The cell phone that she had just used to call Seto Kaiba sat on the same table a few inches away, beside an empty takeout container and the sunglasses she had been wearing when she got home.

Serenity replayed the conversation in her head over and over, but it still seemed completely unbelievable. She had wondered at first if she should call him at all or try to tell him in person, but she honestly could barely muster up the courage to pick up the phone and press the buttons – so clearly getting in her car, driving to his building, taking the elevator up to his top floor office, and staring him in the face as she told him without any sort of introduction or warning that she was pregnant with his illegitimate child was altogether off the table.

So she had called.

He didn't pick up until the third ring, and when he did, all he'd said was "Kaiba."

Not even hello.

Things had been uncomfortable between them since the night of Joey's birthday – or "that night," as she had come to think of it – but somehow she had still hoped that she might get something better than a quick, one-syllable afterthought of a greeting.

Apparently not. She wondered lamely if she should just be happy that he had picked up at all.

Serenity had stammered a little bit at first, which clearly annoyed him, but she finally managed to get the word "pregnant" out – and after that, she'd had Kaiba's full attention. Of course, he had demanded multiple times how she knew for sure, and she had to reassure him that she had taken three pregnancy tests – three different brands from two different stores – and the indicators were clear on all of them.

He fell silent for a while after that, and she knew that she had convinced him. To his credit, he never asked if it could be anybody else's. At least he had faith that she would be honest about that. Or, more likely, she had just been shy and clumsy enough that night that he had figured she wasn't getting a lot of practice with other men.

When Kaiba finally spoke again, it was to give her cold and straightforward instruction.

"Meet me at my office tomorrow. Try to be there around three o'clock, I'll be between meetings. We'll… figure something out."

She had thanked him – which had seemed odd even at the time, but it was the only thing she could think of to say – and hung up the phone.

And so she sat.

Though she was annoyed at his brusqueness, it was Seto Kaiba, after all. And besides, even normally warm, kind people might react in a less-than-ideal way to that kind of revelation. Serenity had been stunned speechless when she saw the pink plus sign, and she had the week of suspicion once she missed her period as something of a warning. She also had time to collect her thoughts before she had to say anything to anyone else. She could only imagine how it would have been to get no warning and then be put on the spot and forced to answer immediately or come up with some kind of solution.

Hopefully things would be better when they could talk face-to-face.

Sighing and getting to her feet, Serenity turned on the kettle. She had been drinking mostly herbal tea lately, which was a good because it meant she wouldn't have to swear off coffee and go through the caffeine withdrawal. Once she had gotten over the initial shock and horror of the positive pregnancy test the day before, thoughts of all the things that she would have to give up started surfacing. There would be no more beers with Joey and the gang or hot yoga classes on Saturday mornings. No more spoonfuls of raw cookie dough. The bottom line was, she would have to be a lot better to her body.

Well, that is, if she decided to keep the baby.

That particular thought had come to her a couple of hours later, and it had shocked her at first. She had always imagined getting pregnant one day, but ending a pregnancy had never been something she pictured for her future. A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had also imagined any future pregnancies occurring in a stable living situation with a kind and affectionate partner – not at nineteen, with an emotionally vacant CEO who had never even taken her on a real date. However, Serenity still wasn't sure. Even if this was very poorly timed, the thought of ending it before it had really even begun seemed sort of sad. She had decided after another minute or two that the whole train of thought made her feel anxious, and she decided to put it aside for the time being.

For whatever reason, as uncertain and scary as they were, she preferred worries about being pregnant to worries about ending a pregnancy.

Serenity took a sip of her tea and leaned back against the counter. It was barely even seven o'clock, and she already felt like going to bed.

The knob rattled at the front door, and Serenity nearly had a heart attack. She had a fleeting thought that it might be Kaiba, desperate to talk to her after having mulled over the news, but she when she had a second to think that over rationally, she almost laughed. Kaiba was not the type who would jump in his car, race over to her apartment, and grab her hands to talk over their future.

Clearly, he was the type to respond to the news "I'm pregnant" by scheduling a meeting with her at his office within a perfectly reasonable 24-hour window.

And of course, the person walking into the apartment at that moment was just Joey.

"Hey sis," he said, shutting the door behind him and wiping his sneakers on the mat. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know," Serenity shrugged. "Just hanging out."

"Mm."

Joey had opened the fridge, and he was scanning its contents with intense scrutiny. Eventually he spotted a carton of milk, and after opening it (and sniffing it once or twice) he upended it and drained most of the carton in what was presumably one gulp. Seeing Serenity staring at him, he grinned apologetically.

"You weren't planning on eating cereal or something were you?"

Serenity chuckled.

"No, nothing like that. I'm sorry, I guess I was just spacing out. I've been really tired today."

It wasn't a lie – she was completely exhausted. She just wasn't going to go into why.

"Get to bed early then, get some extra sleep," Joey suggested. "Flu season's in full swing, you wanna be at the top of your game."

"You're right," Serenity agreed lamely. "I'll probably just read for a little while. Are you going back out?"

"Yeah, I mostly just came home to change out of my work clothes. Tristan has the new Xbox and we were going to see if we could set it up on the big TV at the Game Shop."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah. Hope so. Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

Serenity nodded quickly.

"Yeah. Like I said, just a little tired and stressed."

"Okay," Joey replied. "But still, go get some rest. I'll tell the guys you said hey."

"Thanks."

Serenity gave him a quick hug and headed down the hall to her room, tea in hand. She was going to try to get some extra sleep that night, but not because she was worried about the flu. Serenity knew that she would need to be one hundred percent focused when she came face-to-face with Kaiba.

2:45 pm the following day…

As Serenity approached the gleaming blue glass building, her heart began to pound. This wasn't going to be an easy meeting – if the phone call was anything to go by, at least.

Knowing in advance how tough it was going to be to walk through the doors and assert herself, Serenity had bolstered her confidence by dressing up a little. The outfit she had picked out was feminine and flattering, but also kind of business-y – which oddly seemed appropriate for the situation. It also seemed like something Kaiba would approve of. The denim blouse and cropped slacks were some of her favorites, and it had also occurred to her that she should probably enjoy them while they still fit.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the revolving door – and was immediately met on the other side by a stern-looking woman with a clipboard.

"Miss Wheeler, I presume?"

"…yes, that's me."

Without waiting for any further response – or giving any further instruction – the woman turned and walked down a hallway. Serenity assumed that she was supposed to follow, so she jogged for a moment to catch up. About the time she fell into step with the woman, they came to a stop in front of an elevator.

"Mr. Kaiba should just be getting out of his meeting," the woman explained as she pressed the button.

Serenity nodded. She couldn't come up with any sort of response, and it didn't seem as though this person was the type who would like to make small talk regardless. The ride to the top was very silent. Serenity briefly wondered if her companion had been given the reason for the meeting, but she highly doubted it. Kaiba was not the kind of man to brief people he considered "beneath" him on his personal business.

To Serenity's surprise, the elevator stopped about halfway up.

"I have some documents to pick up for Mr. Kaiba," the woman said stiffly. "I've pressed the button for the penthouse office for you, so you have only to stay put and wait. Regards."

With that, the woman stepped out into the hallway, leaving a stunned Serenity alone with the hum of the elevator and the pounding of her own heart. Before she could protest, the doors had closed and she began her ascent.

As she rose upward, her ears popping from the altitude, Serenity rehearsed things she could say when she finally got to the top. A lot of what she said would depend on Kaiba's attitude, of course… would he be brusque, or would he take more time with her? How many opinions would he have about the situation – or would he just take her lead?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized: she honestly had no idea what to expect.

As the elevator jolted to a stop, Serenity's mind went blank.

Taking a deep breath as the doors opened, she stepped across the metal threshold.

The elevator had taken her up to a single room, but it was so wide she could barely even see the floor-length windows on the other side. There weren't any curtains on any of the windows surrounding the room, but they all had shades pulled about three-quarters of the way to the floor. Apparently Kaiba didn't like a lot of light when he worked. There also wasn't much furniture – only a few clusters of firm-looking couches and a couple of potted trees. The room smelled sterile, like cleaning supplies and new carpet.

"Are you going to come in?" a voice demanded.

Serenity jerked her head up, and she saw – all the way on the other side of the room – Kaiba sitting at a desk looking at her over the screen of a computer.

"Yeah, sorry," she said, immediately starting to speed walk over to where he sat. "I couldn't see you from all the way over there."

Kaiba smirked a little.

"It's fine. Go ahead, take a seat."

Serenity did as she was told and sunk into one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

"So…" she started. "How have you been?"

Rather than responding, Kaiba sighed.

"Are we really going to do this?" he asked. "Act like we're old friends, or like this situation is normal?"

Serenity paused, taken aback.

"Well, we don't have to," she replied. "I guess… I was just trying to be nice."

Kaiba didn't say anything, but his piercing blue eyes locked with hers – and rattled her down to her very core. The feeling she got was something like nostalgia, but it was nostalgia for an event that had only ever happened once and seemed dreamlike even at the time.

Kaiba smiling his cryptic smile as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear…

Kaiba reaching over to refill her champagne…

Kaiba raising his eyebrows as she sucked on the cherry from the bottom of the glass…

Kaiba pulling her onto his lap on the black velour sofa, placing sharp, bold kisses at the place where her neck met her shoulder…

Titillating though they were, those memories seemed very out of place in the current situation – as though they had occurred with a different man than the one sitting before her.

"It was a one-time thing, Serenity," Kaiba said stiffly. "We weren't planning a future – at least, I certainly wasn't – and then this happened somehow."

"Yeah," Serenity agreed. "I guess… I guess that about sums it up."

"Have you decided what you're going to do about it?"

The words brought Serenity back to her thoughts from earlier – the ones she had intentionally put out of her mind. The wave of nausea that came with them made her realize that somehow, in the back of her mind, she had already made the decision.

"I'm going to keep it," she announced, surprising even herself. "I'm going to have the baby."

Kaiba's eyes widened.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's… hard to think about, but it's what I want. I don't know where I'm going to live or what I'm going to tell my brother, but I don't want to get rid of this. I want to have it."

That statement was something of a manifesto for Serenity, and she felt empowered for having said it. Though she had expected Kaiba's brusque attitude to unnerve her into silence, it miraculously had the opposite effect: in the face of such bluntness and lack of sentimentality, her own wants and needs had become somehow clearer.

"Well, that brings me to my next question," Kaiba said, licking his finger to help separate two papers that had gotten stuck together. "And that is, what do you want from me?"

Serenity paused.

"What do I… want?"

"That's right. Do you want a check each month, or should I just find you a property where you can live free of charge? Are you going to want to sign some sort of custody agreement? Whose name do you want your baby to take? Because let me tell you, the Kaiba name is going to come with a heavy burden and lot of expectation – for you as well as for your child. I could understand you wanting to avoid that."

And just like that, Serenity's newfound resolve crumbled. She stared at him, unblinking.

"I just... I guess I assumed you would be a little more involved than that," she said, her voice coming out more quietly than she expected.

To her horror, Kaiba laughed.

Laughed.

"What?" he demanded. "You wanted me to sell all my shares and properties so I could move in with you and your friends and play house? Be best friends with your brother, stay up late playing board games and taking care of a baby like some sort of TV sitcom? I know that Mokuba may like drinking and killing time with your group, but trust me, that is not something I'm waiting on the edge of my seat to take on, baby or not."

Despite herself, Serenity felt her lip start to quiver. She was determined he not see what he'd done to her, so she bit down hard enough that she thought she might have tasted blood.

"Fine," she replied, getting to her feet. "That's how you want it, then. I understand."

Seto folded his hands and sat back in his chair, but if he had any idea of the magnitude of the blow he had just dealt, he gave no indication.

"I'll let you know about that check then," she said, picking up speed on the way back to the elevator. "I'll have my people call your people. Or whatever."

She wanted to look back over her shoulder to see his expression, but she resisted the urge – lest he see the tears that had started rolling down her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, guys! :) I'm glad people are excited to see where this will go.

When Serenity got back to the bottom floor of the KaibaCorp tower, she was crying hard enough that most of her surroundings were little more than large blurs. One of the blurs looked like it might have been the woman who met her at the door when she arrived, but Serenity didn't have any desire to talk to that woman again - ever, really, but especially not in that moment. She just wanted out, so despite the noise around her, she kept her head down and kept walking.

Finally, after a couple of wrong turns, Serenity was back out in the warmth of the evening. She was surprised to see that the sun was starting to set. Though it felt like she had been in and out in a moment, it must have been at least a half hour.

Taking a deep breath, Serenity wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. She was sure her makeup was all over the place, but she couldn't bring herself to care about that, either. She just needed a place to sit, breathe, and take stock of her situation.

A café. Perfect.

As Serenity approached the building, with its striped green awnings and shiny windows, she noticed that there was a patio hidden by some trees outside. She would be able to sit down on without having to walk inside and talk to anyone, which was probably the best news she had gotten all day. Though the world was still a little bit blurry, she managed to find a vacant table, take a seat, and become momentarily consumed by her despair.

The empty chair across from her seemed to mock her, suggesting that if her situation were normal or she was getting the treatment she deserved, Kaiba would be sitting there drinking a cup of tea and talking about their plans. She smiled, but not in a happy way.

Had she been naive to expect Kaiba to want anything to do with her or the baby? Was it an unrealistic expectation for him to treat her with compassion and sympathy, at the very least?

Though Serenity had thought originally that being alone was what she wanted, it was making her a little bit crazy. She needed to talk to somebody.

But who could she call?

Serenity's thoughts immediately went to Téa, but admittedly the idea didn't really excite her. The older girl had always been very nice to her, but it didn't feel like an organic nice-ness. It seemed much more like niceness born of pity and obligation. Besides, even though Téa was always overflowing with speeches and advice, none of it would do Serenity any good in this situation. She could say without near certainty that Téa had never dealt with anything like this.

The next person Serenity thought of was Yugi, and she had to admit she liked that idea a little better. Out of all of her brother's friends, she had always liked him the best. She felt like she could pour out her heart to him without him judging or patronizing, but the bottom line was that it wouldn't be fair to him. She couldn't ask him to keep something like that from Joey. In fact, that much was probably true for any of Joey's friends.

Or maybe it wasn't.

There was one person who immediately came to mind - someone Serenity thought she might be able to count on to treat this matter (and her) with the necessary care.

Mai.

Serenity laughed a little at the thought. The one person she could trust to both not judge her for sleeping with Joey's worst enemy and not tell Joey about it was incidentally Joey's own girlfriend. It really made it sound like the two of them - Mai and Joey - had a rotten or mistrustful relationship, but Serenity knew that really wasn't the case. Mai was just a little older than the others and perhaps a little wiser. She had a strong drive to protect fellow women, no matter what that meant for her. Secrets were a burden she could bear.

Mai wasn't exactly her best friend, but then again… any port in a storm. And after all, Mai had played a role in everything that went down the night of Joey's birthday.

Serenity took a rattling breath and flipped through her phone until she found Mai's number. As it rang she got a quick compulsion to hang up and pretend it had been an accidental dial, but she muscled past it.

"... hello? Serenity?"

Mai's surprised tone attested to how unusual the call was.

"Hey," Serenity said shyly. "Can you talk for a second?"

"Sure. One thing first - Joey's okay, right?"

Of course. Mai would assume the call was about Joey, ostensibly the only person or thing the two of them had in common.

"Yeah, it's actually not about him," Serenity said. "I just… really need to talk about some things. Are you busy right now?"

"I'm just leaving the bank," Mai replied. "Do you want to meet somewhere? Where are you?"

"I'm at this little cafe downtown, near KaibaCorp."

Mai laughed.

"Interesting choice of landmark. But sure - I'll be there in ten or fifteen minutes. Hey, are you sure you're okay? You sound sad."

"I guess. I mean, I'm safe or whatever… I'm just in kind of a mess. We'll talk about it when you get here. See you then."

Serenity hung up the phone, which she realized afterward may have seemed a little bit rude, but she didn't have the energy to make up pleasantries and end the conversation more naturally. When Mai got there, all of it would make sense.

Putting away her phone, Serenity took a sighing breath. A part of her wanted a cup of tea, but not enough to get up and interact with a stranger long enough to ask for it. She felt very self-conscious sitting there by herself, not drinking or eating anything, but something about her solitude made her feel defensive and powerful. She wondered for a moment if that's how Kaiba went through life; feeling alien and and strange and making up for it with standoffishness and anger. It was lonely, but she had to admit, it was empowering.

After a few more minutes of aimless reflection, Serenity saw Mai's thick mane of blonde hair around the corner of the restaurant.

"Hey - over here," Serenity called.

Mai looked up, and seeing Serenity, changed direction and walked through the gate to the patio.

"Hey kiddo," she said, giving Serenity a one-armed hug and sitting down across from her. "You look like you've been crying."

"Yeah… guess so."

"Is it trouble with your brother?"

Serenity inwardly groaned. She had already told Mai it wasn't about Joey. This was what she hated about her brother's friends; they had a way of treating her very one-dimensionally. It seemed to her sometimes as though her only substance as a person existed as a result of her connection with Joey, who was an actual person to them. Kaiba certainly didn't do that, even if his reason was simply that he didn't want to think about the fact that he was making out with Joey Wheeler's sister.

In spite of her frustration, Serenity decided against unloading all that on Mai, who had done her a great service by showing up at all.

"It's not," she said. "In fact, it would mean a whole lot to me if you don't mention to him any of what I'm going to tell you."

Mai raised her eyebrows.

"And here I thought you two told each other everything."

"Usually, we do," Serenity agreed. "But once you hear this, I think you'll understand why I'm asking you to keep it between us, at least for right now."

"Now I'm really curious," Mai said, laughing a little. "What, are you pregnant or something?"

Serenity was struck speechless, but apparently the look on her face said it all.

"Oh my God, I was kidding," Mai whispered. "But you really are, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Serenity relented. "I found out yesterday morning."

A moment of silence followed, and Serenity found herself trying to read Mai's expression. There was a tiny bit of giddiness at the juiciness of what she had just found out, but to her credit, that was mostly weighed out by shock and horror on Serenity's behalf.

"Well… whose is it?" Mai asked. She paused a moment, then added, "Do you know?"

Serenity felt her stomach flop, both from the nervousness that came with knowing she was about to say the name out loud and because the answer brought to mind that afternoon's meeting, and thinking of it made the sting fresh all over again.

"Okay, this is the part I really need you to not tell Joey," Serenity said, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the outburst she knew would inevitably follow. "It's… Kaiba's."

Serenity didn't even realize she had intentionally broken eye contact until she found herself wondering why Mai wasn't talking. When she found the courage to look up, she saw Mai staring back blankly, all traces of amusement - and indeed, of color - missing from her features.

"... Kaiba's?" Mai finally repeated blankly.

"Look, I know. It's not even like we were seeing each other, really. He used to come into the coffeehouse where I worked last fall, and we exchanged numbers so he could start calling his order in ahead and wouldn't have to wait at the counter. Then, somehow, we started texting - mostly when one of us was drunk - and it became sort of a thing, I guess."

Mai's smile had come back a little bit.

"If I were you, I would have been afraid that Joey would see the name come up on my phone."

Serenity rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, he's not in my phone under his real name."

"Serenity, this is a side of you I didn't know about," Mai said, shaking her head a little bit. "Not that that's a bad thing! If I were Joey's sister, there would be things about me I wouldn't share. Hell, he's my boyfriend, and there are things I don't. But… how did the sex happen?"

Something about that made Serenity want to flinch, but she should have known that Mai could be counted upon not to mince words.

"It was the night of Joey's birthday - you remember how crazy things got."

"Actually, I don't remember much," Mai admitted, laughing a little. "Which in itself is a testament to how crazy things got. But the last I remember seeing you, you were dancing at a bar downtown. How you get from there to… ?"

"Well, it was getting really late, and you decided to go with those people we ran into. I told you it was okay - I guess I was sort of partied out. I was just drunk enough to text… you know who, but I promise I didn't have any weird intentions or anything. I mostly just wanted to talk while I waited for a cab. But he offered to come pick me up."

Mai raised an eyebrow.

"That seems out-of-character for him."

"I thought so too," Serenity agreed. "But when he got there, I realized that he was pretty drunk too. I mean, he definitely wasn't driving, though, he had his chauffeur with him."

"This just gets more and more ridiculous," Mai said, laughing quietly and shaking her head. "So Kaiba drunkenly shows up downtown based on a text message from you, and you crawl into the back of his limousine."

"I mean… yeah. That about sums it up. I tried to talk to him a little bit, but he wasn't really in a talkative mood, I guess."

Serenity started to blush a little, and Mai laughed outright in spite of herself.

"Did you do it in the limo?"

Serenity winced.

"Yes. He was a little insistent, but not, like, pushy or anything. I was pretty sober by that point, and it was definitely something we both wanted. At least at the time."

Mai's jaw dropped, her eyes alight with the insanity of what she was hearing.

"Oh my God, I still haven't pulled that off! Sex in a limo! It's on my bucket list for sure. I mean - not with Kaiba, of course," she added quickly. "Not that there's anything wrong with him, he's just so… you know… Kaiba."

"He is that."

"So was it a one-time thing?" Mai demanded.

"Well, maybe two-time," Serenity admitted. "There was also the next morning."

Mai looked like she wanted to laugh, but she settled for smiling and shaking her head in disbelief.

"This is totally wild. I need to get a grip, though. You called me, and it probably wasn't just to tell me the story. Unless it was, of course, and that's fine too. But it sounded like you wanted something."

Serenity sighed.

"Really just mercy, I guess. And some advice. I have no idea where to go from here. When I told Kaiba, he was totally unhelpful."

"You already told him?"

"I did," Serenity admitted. To her dismay, she felt the sting of tears creeping back up in her throat. "And it was actually awful. He was really dismissive and said stuff about Joey and basically just invited me out of his life. He offered me money, which is nice, I guess, but - "

"Hold on," Mai interrupted. "You told him that you were pregnant with his child and he was rotten to you?"

"I mean, rotten might be a little bit of a stretch - "

"That's unacceptable," Mai insisted, getting to her feet. "It's his fault as much as it's yours - well, not fault, I guess, but you know what I mean. Don't worry, I'm going to go talk to him. I'll straighten this out."

Serenity's eyes widened.

"Mai, don't - "

"Not taking no for an answer. Besides, don't worry, I'm not going to tell him off or anything. I'm just going to to square with him. We've worked together before; he'll listen to me. I promise I won't tell him that you sent me or anything. Here, get yourself something to drink. I'll be back in a few minutes - don't go anywhere."

Mai passed Serenity a bill, and the latter tried to protest again, but Mai only winked and sauntered off in the direction of the dark, towering KaibaCorp building that Serenity had left in tears barely an hour before.


End file.
